Sorry for the late post but I’ve had my Brownell’s MPO 5-25x56 for over 3 months and wanted to wait to give my review. This scope is mounted on my Tikka TAC A1 in 6.5CM in a Warne XSKEL 20MOA cantilever Mount. With this 20moa mount and sun shade there is just enough room for the included flip covers. With the sun shape on, this is a huge scope! I was on the fence between this scope, a Primary Arms PLX 6-30x56 FFP a Nghtforce SHV 5-20x56 SFP, a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50 FFP, and a Burris XTR II 5-25x50mm FFP. Out of those scopes only the Vortex was the same price. I do like the EBR-7C reticle in the Vortex. After mulling this over for quite a while, I decided on the Brownell’s.
If weight is your number one priority look elsewhere. It’s 6ozs heavier than the Vortex. That being said it has a 34mm tube and everything about it feels heavy duty. The Tikka isn’t a lightweight rifle so the weight issue isn’t a concern for me. Speaking of concerns, Brownell’s warranty is forever no questions asked as it has been for years.
The glass on the MPO is very good Japanese glass. It’s as good as the Vortex, Burris, or Primary Arms. (maybe a bit better at higher magnification?) Before you ask I have friends with the Vortex, Burris and PA scopes. We all compared and they were impressed with the MOO’s glass too. Almost zero chromatic aberration at 25x!
At first I didn’t know if I was going to like the N-ORM reticle. At low magnification it appears as one cross hair. At higher magnification you can distinguish the two thin line cross hairs. The center dot is invisible under 10x On higher power its small enough that it doesn’t cover the target. The upper portion of the reticle is clear. The lower portion has the typical Christmas tree affair. I think reticles are a very personal choice for most of us. What I or someone else may like someone else might hate? Two of my friends did not like the MPO reticle. However I’m now a fan of this reticle from Brownell’s . Everything being a compromise this might be the best I’ve seen. I performed a tracking test at 100yrds. (0.1 MARD per click) 20 clicks up, 20 clicks right, 40 clicks down, 20 clicks left, 20 clicks up, the last shot was touching the initial shot and the corresponding mill values
1mil=3.6” (at 20 Mils elevation I was 7.1” at 20 mils windage I was right at 7.2” off center.) I’m calling tracking spot on. Clicks are loud and very tactile. I also like the Glock style knurling on the knobs. (No I’m not a Glock fanboy! These serrations are very grippy without chewing your fingers up) Zero stop is standard and easy with elevation going a half mill below zero. The windage knob cover is large and can be used as a shot glass if needed! The Parallax knob was very stiff at first but has since become easier to operate. Illumination is not bright daylight bright but you don’t need illumination in bright daylight. In overcast or low light it’s more than adequate. Now to me eye box is extremely important. This scope has a very forgiving eye box even at 25x. Eye relief is between 3.75”-4.25”. The throw lever is a very nice touch to be included. The eye piece was easy to focus even for my 60yr old eyes.
I dropped my Tikka, putting it on my work bench for cleaning. (Yeah I know) My garage floor is concrete and although this isn’t a torture test, a 14lb rifle hitting the ground from 4’ on the illumination knob isn’t exactly a gentle impact. The result was no damage, no shift in POI, everything stayed tight. I highly recommend all of Warne’s mounts and rings. They’re all I’ve used in 40yrs of shooting.
So if your looking for a long range scope and only have $1400, should you get the Brownell’s MPO 5-25x56? If this matters to you, I like this scope so much I’m buying another one for the custom .300 PRC I’m putting together. I’ll deal with the weight because the quality of this scope, especially for one at $1000 is unmatched.
Pro’s- all the above
Cons-weight , rotation arrows on top, can’t be seen without shift position